A cat-and-dog life
by minnie313
Summary: "I am Chester Babcock, a pure race Pomeranian with an impressive pedigree. I live with my humans in a tasteful Beverly Hills house. This is my story."
1. Chapter 1

A/N : After wallowing in angst with the last two OS (I can continue the plotline, if you want), I fell like a change of style was in order. So, I caught another plot bunny running around, and here it is… I believe I read a CC/Niles story with Chester's POV, where we see how he pushes the two of them together. This is not it. He is simply relating what he sees and hears, although it _might_ get slightly AU towards the end.

Genre: **Romance/Humour/Fluff**

Rating: **T+**

Title: _ **"A cat-and-dog life"**_ **a barkseller by Chester Babcock: part 1**

" _I am Chester Babcock, a pure race Pomeranian with an impressive pedigree. I live with my humans in a tasteful Beverly Hills house. This is my story."_

Like any dog with my pedigree living in the USA, I was born in an elective kennel, on the East Coast. My mother and my sire, Lillyput and Chamallow, had always been a very good combination for the breeders, and they never disappointed. It was the same with my litter. We were all a bunch of lookers, cute and cuddly. I had been the last one of the litter to leave my mother's comfy womb, and was admittedly a little smaller that my brothers and sisters, and my coat was less fluffy. However, I already did have my deadly temperament, and was not above fighting to get what I wanted.

One day, while I was playing with the other pups, _that_ human came to the kennel. Humans always came to the kennel, but this one was slightly different. I could see that he was decisive, easily well-liked, and that his sense of humour pleased his peers. Being quite a social creature myself – I'm a dog, remember? – I got a good first impression of the man, and began to think about what it would mean if he took me away from the others. After all, I was still a pup, but I was beginning to get stifled by the same boring environment, and the puppy games did not amuse me quite as much.

The human observed us all, then opened his mouth and bared his teeth – living with humans, I had learnt that the baring of teeth in that manner was positive: a smile, they call it – wanting him to notice me, I began to show off, and ran to the fence. His mouth produced that strange bark that the humans called _laughter_ and he said:

"This is the one. A show off, demanding attention, and the smallest of the litter. He'll feel right at home with her"

I cocked my head to the side while the breeders opened the fence and picked me up. _Look at me! Look at me! He picked me! Me! Me! Me!_ I japed, full of joy to be picked up by the human. Usually, they preferred the fluffier ones, but not this one, he had chosen _me_. _So long, suckers!_ I happily barked to the others as the human took me away.

While we were in the car, I could observe him more closely, wondering for whom he had chosen me: who was that _her_ he was talking about? But I soon got distracted from that line of thought, as I examined the moves of his fur, his slightly lined face, and his mobile eyes. _Maybe a daughter?_ I thought. He did not look like the type to have a wife. _A girlfriend, maybe?_

Sensing that I might be distracting the human from his duty – mainly driving me in that big rolling box they call a car to the _woman?_ I was chosen for – I laid down on the seat and closed my eyes, the move lulling me to sleep.

" _Little did I know that my life as this woman's dog would be so… interesting!"_


	2. Chapter 2

A/N : And here comes the meeting between our two furry friends…

Genre: **Romance/Humour/Fluff**

Rating: **T+**

Title: _ **"A cat-and-dog life"**_ **a barkseller by Chester Babcock: part 2**

" _I am Chester Babcock, a pure race Pomeranian with an impressive pedigree. I live with my humans in a tasteful Beverly Hills house. This is my story."_

The human – he told me his name was Niles – talked a lot about my future human. I could tell he liked her: he detailed her head fur, her eyes, her jaws, and the way her eyes lit up when she bared her teeth, you know, when she smiled. He told me that she was a big Broadway Producer, although I don't know what that means. Apparently, she works in the "theatre" I think he called it, and she is brilliant. He also said that she could be very mean, but also very sweet. The _mean_ comment made me slightly apprehensive, but he said she would not be mean to me. That was nice. To make a long story short, Niles told me nearly everything he knew about my human. I told you that I could tell he liked her by what he said about her, and how he said it. But I also knew because his face moved so much when he spoke of her, and because his body released pheromones…

When we arrived at the big house, he gave me something to drink, and to munch on. I decided I liked him: he was social, he was nice, and understood my needs. He must have been a dog in another life. And he liked my future human! I knew that humans shared a house – the breeders had – so maybe he lived with her, and we would see each other often! I liked this new friend, after all.

Soon, it was time to meet my human. Niles told me to be quiet, that I was a surprise for her birthday. Apparently, birthdays are very important to humans, they make a lot of fuss about it. I hoped she would be happy when she discovered I was her new friend…

Well, she was surprised. Or shocked, you can't always tell with humans. I think that she expected something else. Another human was there, but Niles had not introduced me to him yet. But he was the one offering me to her… Humans are weird! I thought Niles was the one offering me to her. She recovered quickly, though, and took me in her hands. She tried to nuzzle me, but she was holding me wrong, so I growled. I think she must have been a cat in another life.

Then, Niles made her mad: her eyes were squinty, and her jaws tightened. _"Fluffy AND a good judge of character"_ was what he said. I did not understand. The pheromones he released were even stronger now that they were in the same room, and he was _mean?_ Or maybe that was what humans called "humour". I can't always tell the difference. I'm only canine, after all.

Then, the other female came in, and I was instantly happy. Another one who had been a dog in another life! She was friendly, she was nice, and instantly taken with me, as was just right! After all, I am pure-bred Pomeranian, the offspring of Lillyput and Chamallow! I didn't get to stay with her, though. Too bad. I don't think my human likes me very much… and that's strange. Who could refuse my cuteness? Maybe she thinks I'm not fluffy enough.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N : Their firs night, and the beginning of their relationship. I'm sorry it took me this long to update, but I had people home the last three days and I had to entertain ;p

Genre: **Romance/Humour/Fluff**

Rating: **T+**

Title: _ **"A cat-and-dog life"**_ **a barkseller by Chester Babcock: part 3**

" _I am Chester Babcock, a pure race Pomeranian with an impressive pedigree. I live with my humans in a tasteful Beverly Hills house. This is my story."_

The first night that we met, my human had to go to the restaurant for work. I was disappointed that I would not get to see my new house right away, or know my human. She had seemed shocked to see me, and not surprised that I would like the big haired human. She might have been a cat one, but I thought that she might be very nice if given the chance. Niles had done nothing but talk about her the entire time we had been together. I wanted to see how she would be.

And she did not disappoint. She had to go to work, yes, but she gave me back to Niles, saying that he better feed me since he thought we were litter mates. I rolled my tongue at that one. She got him, for sure! Only the littlest child was there, and he winked at her before answering my human:

"Any recommendation for Chester, Babcock? Which sort of Alpo can would you recommend?"

"Enough, Merry Maid! Just feed him and put him to bed." She replied, nearly throwing me in his arms.

As soon as my human was gone, Niles got to making me a bowl of good food, and I dove right in. The Little One was finishing her dessert just as I was finishing emptying my bowl. She petted my head and said goodnight. Then, when Niles and I were all alone in the kitchen, something strange happened. I was sitting down on the tiles, and Niles was splashing dishes with water, removing the food remains – what is it the humans call it? I can't remember – anyway, we were both doing our thing and that happened.

He started to talk about my human again. He kept saying how sad he was that she was stuck to Max (I guessed that was the dark-haired human), that she would certainly warm up to me once the shock had passed, and that the two of us would be good friends. I could not believe my ears! What was the matter with Niles? Why did he have two faces? Why did he speak of her with kindness, affection, admiration, even when he was addressing me, but not when he was addressing her? Scratch that -not literally, of course – why was he mean to her when other people were about? Humm… That deserved an enquiry, and a lot of pondering!

I cocked my head to the side, just like I do when I think about something, and it made him laugh a little.

Anyway, I was confident that I would discover it soon. I was, after all, destined to be my human's mostly companion – she would take me to work with her! YAY! – so she would tell me everything about them, and I would see Niles often: he would end up telling me everything too. I am, after all, cuteness made dog. Neither of them would resist telling me!

…..

Later that night, I was laying asleep near the bed of my human when the door opened, letting a ray of light into the room. My human – I recognised her nice smell – staggered into the room. She seemed exhausted. She sat on the bed and took off her shoes. I went to her, wiggling my tail. She frowned.

"What do you want, now? Why don't you go to Nanny Fine or Niles, if you want to be petted?!"

I cocked my head to the right, and sat down, wiggling still. She sighed.

"What is this? Do I have to pet you? Is that how I'll get you to let me sleep?"

I barked softly, and rubbed my head on her legs. She laughed softly. If I didn't have my superior sense of hearing, I doubt I would have heard it. I wiggled my tail and she petted my head. I liked it. I licked her fingers, and she laughed again. I decided that I liked the sound.

"You're a persistent mangy little thing, aren't you?" She whispered. She took me in her arms, and rubbed her cheek on my fur. She was less forceful than last time. I didn't growl.

I think I'm going to like being her dog…


	4. Chapter 4

A/N : Their first Christmas :) I'm thinking about creating a proper story with my AU snippets, and I decided to follow AllTheSnakes' idea of creating a proper story for this one, too.

Genre: **Romance/Humour/Fluff**

Rating: **K+**

Title: _ **"A cat-and-dog life"**_ **a barkseller by Chester Babcock: part 4**

" _I am Chester Babcock, a pure race Pomeranian with an impressive pedigree. I live with my humans in a tasteful Beverly Hills house. This is my story."_

I liked my human. She would take great care in dressing me, and making sure that I was well-fed, that I took walks every day, that a good vet was taking care of me, that I slept in my good bed, … she was a good human. Sometimes, my human took me on walks herself. Those were the ones that I preferred. She would dress me, gently put on my coat and my leash. She made sure that I always matched. Only the best for her baby, she said. There were times, that she added "stupid mutt" affectionately. Sure, she could be ridiculous, but I liked her.

We would go to my favourite places. The parlours down the street, the corners where I preferred to do my business, my favourite park – the one I also went with Angelique sometimes. My human would play with me – she says that I'm the best at playing "fetch", you know – and talk. She liked to talk. Sometimes, she was sitting on a bench in the park, holding me in her arms. Sometimes, it was at home. We were sitting on the sofa, me in her arms, and we cuddled. Most of the time, she drank that horrid thing with the burning smell. I did not like it, because it made her sad. She would pet me, and we would cuddle. And she would talk.

Sometimes, it was about her family, but that happened rarely. Usually, it was about her place of work, the "mansion", as she called it. Not her work, though, which was strange for a businesswoman like her, said some of my friends at the park. Sometimes, it was about the strangely pretty dark furred one. Sometimes, it was about my fluffy, furry friend, Fran. She did not like her. It's true that I teased my human with her. I acted like I loved Fran more, but that's just because I saw her saw little. I like my human just fine. I don't think she was jealous though. Or maybe she was then, but not anymore. Now, she knows that I play with Fran, my dog-human friend. What I liked most, was when she talked about Niles. You know, my friend who likes my human like crazy! And I thought that there was something between them, remember?

Anyway, I had wanted to know what was going on between them for a while. I was sure that she liked him too. She talked about him often. VERY often. She got that twinkle in her eye when she told me of his clever prank of the day, or of the great zinger that she used on him that day – that was when she won – or the good one he'd pulled on her – that was when he'd won. And she laughed. It was a good sound. My human did not laugh often, back then. She would tell me what he'd worn that day, getting that small smile and that faraway look, when he'd looked particularly handsome that day. And the pheromones she released… Wowza! – as Fran would say. She liked him too. What I could never understand was why they were not together.

These days, the weather was becoming very cold. Freezing, even. Frost was covering the branches, and the leaves had long since fallen and turned to mush at our feet. She dressed me in red coats with white fur trimmings, white buttons, a little woollen hat… I looked cute and classy. I liked it. But our walks together became less frequent. She had a lot of work, and did not enjoy being out in the dark and in the cold. And she began talking about doing a trip. And to say I had been looking forward to my Christmas presents! I knew it was Christmas: she had explained everything to me about the decorated tree, and the balls, and the tinsels, and the presents. She had also said that Niles and her usually had something together for the holidays. Though, why she would call it "bitter', I'll never know. I was looking forward to it! I wanted to see them together in a relaxed environment! Finally, an occasion to observe a tradition between them! I might have become the first dog-iatrist if I could have seen them.

But the next week, she began to show some disappointment. She was going on a trip with "Maxwell", the pretty one. You know, the idiot who gave me to her for her birthday, when Niles was the one to pick me out. And it was not fun, Niles would not be there for one – I think that was part of the disappointment – and it was for work. From what she said, she had hoped that something would have happened between Maxwell and her a few times, but was always disappointed, and ended up doing all the work. I was disappointed too. I had wanted to spend Christmas with my human, but it was not to be.

The evening that she was supposed to leave, however, she came back during the night. I barked as happily as I had ever done, and we cuddled in front of a curious film called "The Grinch". And she gave me my present before she left the next morning: a new bowl! With MY name on it, C-H-E-S-T-E-R, it said. And it was cuter than the last one! It was pottery made, and with a niiice bone on it. All in all, I liked my first Christmas with my non-demonstrative human who must have been a cat!


End file.
